Power of Constitution forced Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar to resign, says Mamata Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee said that Devendra Fadnavis did the right thing by resigning as he did not have the majority.

Kolkata: After the resignation of Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said that power of Constitution has forced the duo to step down from their respective posts. 

Mamata Banerjee said, "Devendra Fadnavis did the right thing by resigning (as Maharashtra CM), he did not have the majority. He should not have taken the oath in the first place before proving his majority."

"Today is the Constitution day and because of the Constitution, a government (led by Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar) has been forced to resign," West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee said in the State Assembly. 

The resignation of Fadnavis comes a day before the apex court asked the BJP to prove the majority on the floor of the state assembly.

Earlier in the day, Fadnavis held a press conference and said: "We realised that we don`t have the required numbers to form the government and we don`t want to indulge in horse-trading.

"Fadnavis`s deputy and NCP leader Ajit Pawar too resigned from the post on Tuesday, just three days after he was sworn-in. In a sudden turn of events, both Fadnavis and Pawar were administered the oath on Saturday morning, nixing Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP`s bid to form government in the state. 

As Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government failed to survive in Maharashtra, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday said NCP-Shiv Sena-Congress will meet Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday to stake a claim for government formation in the state. 

"We will meet the governor tomorrow to claim that Fadnvavis did not have the majority and NCP-Congress-Sena alliance has the required numbers of MLAs to form government in the state," Chavan told ANI in Delhi.